Metacoin

Covering Bitcoin, the Blockchain, Altcoins, and Fintech

David Van de Walle

Is Bitcoin $20,000 Coming This Year?

#BTC20K

The parabolic, chart-breaking, insane rise of Bitcoin has rendered one of our favorite words – “staggering” – obsolete. Staggering is in the rear view mirror – just yesterday, we screenshotted (that’s a verb) a Coinbase chart, then that chart, too, became obsolete.

Tweet One:

Tweet Two:

Why $20,000 Could Happen Next Week

The Great Bitcoin Futures Race of 2017 is the big reason you’ll see more parabolicism – that’s a word – sooner as opposed to later. It’s because institutional money is waiting patiently (more like salivating) for the opportunity to use lots of money to start trading futures.

December 10: That’s the date the Cboe will start trading Bitcoin futures. Cboe chose this date to prove they can hustle and muscle past the CME Group, another Chicago-based market, which announced its Bitcoin futures would start trading on December 18.

One theory – and Lord knows there are dozens of theories as to what might happen – is that Bitcoin will keep rising in anticipation of the futures launches, then rise some more as institutional money flows into things like BTC 50K options or whatnot. Then, just as rapidly, the same theory suggests a severe pullback; this will mostly be from big money managers that are trying to make money on both sides of a trade (something futures and options people do regularly).

The odds of this roller coaster just beginning are pretty high.

What To Do, What To Do…

All right, the first thing I’d suggest – and know that this isn’t investment or trading advice, do your own research, don’t invest more than you can afford to lose, and seek professional guidance on things like taxes and accounting – is to take a deep breath.

via GIPHY

If you’ve spent any time trading anything, you know that your guess is as good as anyone’s as to what really comes next. Heck, just Google any of your favorite market-moving events: “Black Swan,” “Financial Crisis,” “Dutch Tulips,” “Dot-Com Bubble.”

You’ll find a wealth of knowledge on things like Sir Isaac Newton getting “rekt” by some sort of stock investment, or the fact that the only companies that really emerged from the Dot-Com Bubble were named Amazon.

I’ll tell ya what I’m doing, for what it’s worth:

  1. Watching my BTC, and adding to my stake where I can (selling off some winners and taking profits, really)
  2. Bulking up on some alts that haven’t done as well as I would have hoped (see same blog post above; I’m long on all of those listed)
  3. Really bulking up on ultra-cheap coins like POW (which you can still get for free with this link, which throws off some bonus POW for us here, so thanks)
  4. Even buying some more of all the Big 3 on Coinbase – if you’re one of the 15 people in the US who haven’t signed up for Coinbase, use this referral link and we’ll both get a bonus
  5. And moving them to a variety of storage systems and devices – we still recommend the Trezor, that’s an AFFILIATE LINK.

Craziness? The Guess Is You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.

Remember: this is a marathon, not a sprint. Lifetimes of gains made in just a year? Seems crazy, but has been par for the course in the past MONTH.

Buckle up and enjoy the ride.

We’re Watching Hexabot – Signs Aren’t Good

Keeping tabs on these Passive Income Platforms can be tough work – and we’re afraid that Hexabot might soon join the ranks of the “SCAM” sites.

Here’s why:

Hexabug

As has sadly been the case with a whole host of these programs, something went awry – and rather quickly. Those folks who tweeted about the odd balance figures were not alone – my own dashboard showed odd amounts last night, with none of the three Bitcoin pieces (invested amount, withdrawable balance, and total earnings) being anywhere close to accurate.

It remains to be seen whether this is a glitch that will be worked out – remember when Bitconnect went down a couple months ago? – or it’s the beginning of the end.

Sage advice?

Our Next Steps on This Site

Our goal is to be as transparent as possible, so we’re going to remove Hexabot affiliate links for the time being.

We can still recommend Bitconnect, but with a huge asterisk: we don’t think it’s got long-term staying power, and we’re spreading out our risks accordingly.

Four For the HODL File

HODLThere’s a rather interesting debate going on in the crypto universe: whether or not “HODL,” the verb attached to the acronym for “Hold on for Dear Life,” should be pronounced like it sounds.

In one corner: boy, does it flow off the tongue as “Hoe-dil.” “I’m HODLing that bad boy, Bob.”

In the other corner, a very Pwn-like or Brett Favre-like desire to say “HOLD” when talking about “HODLing.”

We’ll let y’all argue about which makes the most sense; we’ll just weigh in with four coins you can potentially add to your HODL File.

Siacoin – $SC – Is It Back?

Our romance with Siacoin has been fraught with craziness. Is it going to upend Dropbox as the way everyone uploads files? Is it going to really use everyone’s excess computing strength in a way that the masses can understand?

Oh and, for the #HOLDers, is it going to get anywhere near its four-digit-Satoshi heights of earlier this year?

We’ll admit to being so lovestruck with this coin that we waited til the last possible minute to sell out all of our HODLings earlier this year, and we didn’t get back in until this weekend.

We saw support at 75 Sats and said “it’s time.” It inched up into the 100 level, pulled back to the high 90s, and we’re now along for the ride. Again. This time for good. Until we feel jilted at the altar of 10x again and decide to exit.

Crypto romance is like that.

Cardano – $ADA – Where Did THIS Come From?

Cardano

We’ll admit to having been whipsawed by this one, which emerged in early October, hung around in the 300 to 600 Satoshi range, and then went like a rocket ship into the 1200s.

And, call us crazy, that’s where we bought in: again, seeing support, lots of trading, and a great-looking project, this one looked like it had 10x potential.

“Ethereum on steroids” is one way to look at its potential; more than just a slick-looking, high-market cap project is the hope. Take a look at the chart here and, as always, DYOR. (“Do Your Own Research.”)

Einsteinium – $EMC2 – Fork Coming

This could actually be less of a HODL opportunity for us, depending upon how this “fork” actually, uh, forks. But to take 55 million coins and burn them, with a current supply of 211 million, might actually bode well for the long-term prognosis. The fork date, as of this writing, is December 9.

Add that to the really cool “Wormhole” incentive – details about that here – and miners might find this one to be profitable, too.

We bought in at 7500 or so – after seeing it pop a little and thinking that it still has a ways to go. Potential for a run is pretty good – and potential for a drop to zero is also something that, well, is always a possibility. Tread lightly. Good luck.

COSS – $COSS – Singapore is Strategically Located

Our thinking here – and a reason that, despite the fact that we are still HODLing despite being down 80% from our initial stake – is that COSS is in the right place at the right time.

Singapore is a great spot for a trading platform; and, if there’s any noise in China – like banning ICOs again, or closing down exchanges – the money is likely to move somewhere else in the region quickly.

So we’re long. Real long. Like “we’ll buy more at these levels (700 Sats) and wait this one out, even if it takes us into 2019.

Final Warnings

We’ve been wrong before. We’ll be wrong again.

So we need to repeat: Do Your Own Research. We’re not responsible for successes or failures as a result of your use of this site. Don’t invest more than you can afford to lose. Check several sources. Don’t give in to FOMO or FUD or any of that other stuff.

Good luck.

My Morning Bitcoin Ritual

There’s a certain power to morning rituals, to routines, and to doing the same thing every day – you find yourself ready for a variety of challenges, and, if you’re a morning person like me, you can hit the ground running by 8:30, with your priority list or to do list on the road to being conquered.

Crypto The UnicornIf you’ve followed any of the self-help gurus on the internet over the past ten years or so, you know there is almost a cottage industry built around productivity. So take these with a grain of salt…what works for me may not work for you.

In any event, here’s the ritual I follow, with the specific crypto mantra that has helped me in the past eight months.

Before you ask “who are you and why should we listen to you?” – let’s just say that I’m pretty happy with the little crypto empire I’m starting to build. But I have a lot to learn…which is why you’ll see a good chunk of this devoted to research.

Step One: Fire Up a Specific Set of Sites

I have the following sites set to open up on Chrome:

  • Gmail
  • Google Finance
  • Metacoin – yes, this site is one of the first things I check, to get statistics, read any comments, etc.
  • Twitter – where, in addition to the Team Metacoin account, I spend most of my time tweeting under my Area 224 account, where I have tweeted for close to ten years.
  • Poloniex (more on that in a moment)
  • CoinMarketCap (which gets ripped on by quite a few people, I know…as it appears they really don’t vet their ads very well)
  • LinkedIn (checking in on professional network stuff there)
  • ESPN (well, duh), and
  • POW Token – as I’m semi-obsessed with this one getting off the ground. That’s an AFFILIATE LINK over there. Use it and I get some bonus tokens, but, if this one gets to a penny a token in the next year, they’re handing you a few hundred dollars.

Step Two: Open Up Your Spreadsheet(s)

You of course have a system for charting your holdings – I use Excel, but there are scores of ways to keep track of what you hold and that’s okay.

In my case, though, my Excel systems have helped me to chart everything that’s important in crypto:

  • What I hold
  • What I paid for it
  • What I sold it for
  • What revenue has been realized from any Passive Income Programs (PIPs).

YOU HAVE TO HAVE THIS INFORMATION FOR TAX PURPOSES. IT IS PART OF YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.

I’m an American: I’m not going to get into a debate here on taxation and cryptocurrency – and, as always, we have advised you to get professional help from an accountant and tax advisor. Don’t take this responsibility lightly – if you want the RIGHT to get into cryptocurrency, you have the responsibility to pay your taxes and do everything that is legally required of you. Soapbox speech over.

Step Three: Go Line By Line

Here’s where I go down the list and track where my investments are. The ones that aren’t PIPs can be tracked by a combo of Poloniex and CoinMarketCap.

My holdings might change, but my HODLings aren’t changing very often. Here’s a list of the ones that I track currently:

  • Bitcoin
  • Ethereum
  • Ripple
  • Litecoin
  • NEO
  • Walton
  • ChainLink
  • COSS (to buy this one, you need to go to coss.io).

Weekly or so, I update the BRED Portfolio – I’ll tweet results and sometimes update the blog, too.

Next, I check the PIPs that I’m currently involved with. Note that this list is MUCH SHORTER than it used to be:

  • Bitconnect. That’s an AFFILIATE LINK; however, I’ve begun divesting from my holdings there, using a three-step process to take profits. Instead of reinvesting daily profits, I’m (1) taking them in Bitconnect coins, (2) trading them for BTC, and (3) moving that BTC to another wallet.
  • Hexabot. We talked about this on the blog and had our AFFILIATE LINK REMOVED ON DECEMBER 5.
  • Chain.group. Another one I just heard about, and I have a small stake. Another AFFILIATE LINK.

I track all of my results in the main spreadsheet, and keep track of my total once per day – any more than that and you’re gonna drive yourself nuts.

One thing that I include on my spreadsheet is my tally on BTC Heat – which, yes, is a BTC game. Use that link to get started and it helps me grow my number of spins.

I mentioned POW Token above (still time to get yours with this AFFILIATE LINK) and one other thing that I’ve done to add to my stake is “validate” users. This can be an investment of a half hour or so; but, lately, they’re slowing down how many new users they bring in, so there has been less validation to be done.

I also check the price of POW on EtherDelta; if there’s more of a pullback or I’m feeling frisky, I’ll grab a few more for cheap.

Step Four: Twitter & Research

These two, believe it or not, can go hand in hand. That’s right: “Crypto Twitter” is great, and you can get great ideas about what coins you might want to research. Take it ALL with a grain of salt – you’re not going to get rich just because one random person tweets a coin’s cashtag and tells you it will “moon.”

People that I follow:

  • Sherlock – this guy is good, clever, and on the cutting edge with quite a few trades
  • Bambou Club – somewhere near the Adriatic; he’s also active on Medium with a periodic update on what’s going on in his world
  • Notsofast – trader, miner, lover of altcoins (though he uses a different word for them)
  • Tiffany Hayden – knows XRP backwards and forwards, but shares info about the tech side, too.

I could go on (and reserve the right to update this list down the road) but the point is that you pick a few people that share cool stuff and start hearing what they have to say. And, in my case, that means researching coins and platforms they are talking about.

Try to use a “10th Man” approach, too – if you see quite a few people talking about how great a coin is, or how this next ICO will make people rich overnight, figure out what could possibly go wrong with it. You might end up talking yourself out of making a semi-foolish investment.

A Note on YouTube

Right now, I can’t recommend any YouTubers that talk crypto. Why? My feed seems to be dominated by certain people who talk incessantly about their favorite passive income platform – it’s getting old, getting annoying, and extremely one-dimensional.

I’ll make more videos of my own in the future, but I actually want to add value when I do so – not just talk about my own multi-level marketing abilities.

AND…You Can Do All This In 30 Minutes!

That’s right, whether crypto is your day job or just a side hustle, you really only need to spend 30 minutes on this exercise. It will put you in the right frame of mind and get you ready to build your crypto fortune.

Go get ’em!

 

 

 

Metacoin Q&A – Simon Wajcenberg from POW Token

Time for another Q&A – this one featuring Simon Wajcenberg, one of the founders of the POW Token. We’ve been intrigued from the get-go – so we thought we’d ask a few questions of Simon. (We’re including our referral link throughout – we’re compensated with POW tokens if you use the link to sign up.)

Q: You launched on October 3 and had one of the more compelling value propositions: you were giving away the token to anyone and everyone, they just needed a Facebook account that wasn’t brand new. Why take that approach?

A: We believe that Ethereum will be part of the widespread adoption of Blockchain throughout the planet. Right now, the UI for decentralised Apps and services are pretty horrible. You’ve got to be a real believer (we are!) in order to persist and actually use a decentralised App or service. This will takes years of development by the crypto community until the UI is as easy as that which we expect on mass market web applications. In the mean time, we believe the only way to get mass market adoption is to build a bridge between the centralised “old world” and the decentralised “new world”. POWtoken hopes it is that bridge!

Q: Were you surprised by the initial reaction? (I mean, the servers couldn’t handle it at first…)

A: No – if anything we were slightly disappointed by the lack of PR for the launch. We really believe when the project takes off, we’ll be looking at hundreds of thousands of claims each day.

Because we had so little PR at the launch, we decided to cancel our AWS (Amazon) servers and stick with a cheaper, less scalable server hosting service. Yes this meant that the server could not handle the spike at the time of the launch, but within 30 mins we were back down to levels where the server had 90% spare capacity again. The whole project is done on a shoestring – we are not raising any money, and none of the team get paid in any form. We are all POW holders, just like everybody else who has claimed. We were careful to only give the founder team a collective 6.5% of the POW, to align our interests with all the other users. When the server utilisation starts to approach 75% utilisation we’ll start planning for AWS migration – we are still a way off that!

Q: You make the case on the site that each user of Bitcoin could have an implied value of in excess of $10,000. Care to elaborate on what that could mean for users of POW?

A: Much of the per user value in Bitcoin reflects expectations for the number of Bitcoin users growing to billions from their current level of possibly just over 10 million users. As the number of users approaches 1bn, the per user valuation should fall. Let’s assume it falls to just $200 a head – we’ll use the figure again below.

Our allocation structure accommodates 1bn claimers. We want the Twitter and Facebook users of the world to come and claim their POW allocation and to get their friends to as well.

So let’s look at the numbers. If we got to 1bn users, we would have a total supply of POW of 231b. If we assume the market cap of POWtoken.com at that point was $200b (1bn * $200), then the price of 1 POW would be 0.86 USD. That means the lucky person who got 10bn POW on 3rd October (the first claimant) would be worth over $8bn USD! The current free POW allocation is over 70,000 POW’lite’, and the referral scheme means you can earn another 70K for every person you refer who joins. It really is an extraordinary opportunity for us all to work together to increase adoption and share the benefit. *Editor’s note: as of this writing, 15 November, users claim 73,000 or so POW”lite.” This figure will continue to decrease.

Q: In the interest of full disclosure, not only am I using my referral link to earn more tokens, I’m also a “validator.” Can you please walk us through why that’s important work to be done?

POW LiteA: In the first few weeks we had quite a lot of accounts claiming that clearly had been created on Facebook purely to claim POW’lite’ This was against our Terms and Conditions. Our initial plan had been to use parameters from Facebook’s OAuth “Sign in With Facebook” toolkit to establish the creation date of each Facebook account and hence only allow accounts that had been created for at least 3 months to make a claim. At the time we were unaware that Facebook do not allow this, and do not allow work-arounds such as using the earliest post in the user’s timeline to estimate the creation date. We are in Facebook’s debt for allowing us to take advantage of their amazing OAuth technology, and want to be very careful to respect the letter and spirit of their guidelines. For that reason, we had to come up with an alternative, which is what the validation step does. We ask our existing users to take a look at the public profile page on Facebook of each new claimant, and determine if the account was created before a specific date. Every fake account that is avoided, saves a significant amount of POW, and enhances value for everybody in the network.

Q: As a validator, I’ve noticed quite a few users from Asian countries. Is there any part of the world that you’d like to see more traction for the coin?

A: POW is very popular in the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia. We are seeing increasing take up in South America (Venezuela and Brazil are hotspots). In the African continent, Nigeria is the leading edge. It’s exciting to see claims from such far flung communities as Greenland and the Cook Islands.

Q: How are things coming along with respect to the other milestones, such as Twitter users being able to send POW back and forth, or when the tokens can be traded on exchanges (beyond the EtherDelta ERC20 tokens that we can trade now)?

A: Twitter users sending to each other – within next 7 days

Twitter users and Facebook users sending to each other – within next 14 days

Extended Twitter referral scheme (sending POW to followers who are not POWtoken.com users) – within next 14 days

Twitter ‘TipBot’ – allowing Twitter users to “tip” each other POW’lite’ – within next 21 days

Bridge between POWtoken.com and Ethereum Blockchain – complete by end December.

Q: Any final thoughts for POW Token users and the future of the coin?

Let’s work together to increase crypto adoption. Any ideas you think can help, please get in touch via our social media channels – we are listeners!

Editor’s Note: You can find them on Twitter – and yes, they’re responsive folks. Thanks to Simon and the team for weighing in!